Khauf Review: Slow-paced horror series, but Chum Darang, Rajat Kapoor keep you hooked

In India, there's a lack of truly spine-chilling, edge-of-the-seat, and nail-biting horror content. Cinephiles have long craved gripping stories that genuinely frighten, not just startle. On Friday, Khauf, starring Monika Panwar, Rajat Kapoor, and Chum Darang, dropped on Amazon Prime Video, promising to shake things up in the genre.

About the show!

Set in the corridors of women's hostel on the outskirts of Delhi, the story follows Madhuri (Monika Panwar), a trauma survivor trying to piece her life back together. Her new room, 333, meant to be a safe space, soon becomes a place of supernatural terror and real-world fear. In the hostel, there are rumours of the mysterious death of a former resident begin to spread, so do the harsh realities of what it means to be a woman navigating loneliness in the city. Madhuri's path soon collides with a sinister hakim (Rajat Kapoor), a grief-stricken cop (Geetanjali Kulkarni), and four other women entangled in their own haunted pasts.

The series evokes fear through moments that feel disturbingly familiar:

Monika Panwar shines in her role, portraying Madhuri's pain and evolution with powerful subtlety. Rajat Kapoor, one of the finest actors in Bollywood, brings gravitas to his role, and his presence adds depth to the screenplay.

However, it was Bigg Boss fame Chum Darang's character, Svetlana, one of the hostel residents, who truly stole the show. Fans are raving about her performance, calling it one of the standout elements of the series.

Chum, who was seen in Bigg Boss 18, is also rumoured to be dating her former co-contestant Karan Veer Mehra.

Netizens who have watched the show have praised the makers for finally delivering a horror series that genuinely sends chills down the spine.

A user wrote, "Binge-watched the #Khauf series in one go - all for my Chummi! Absolutely loved it, and #ChumDarang, you were incredible as Svetlana! I adored your performance in every single frame. You played the role so effortlessly - absolutely nailed it! @chumdarang So proud of you - congrats once again! Can't wait to see what you do next!".

Another mentioned, "Watched whole episodesAll done a good joband my Chumie did her part very well. Absolutely loved it and u won't regret it for watching #khauf. Hats off to the background score... Bohat daradiyaa #chumveer #ChumDarang.."